During the insufferable pandemic, longing to get outside and get fresh air for health and sanity, more people hunted deer last fall than in a decade. State game departments across the U.S. report that the sale of hunting licenses was up 5%, 10% or more in 2020. If you hunted public land, especially a national forest or WMA near a big city during a firearms season, you might have seen and felt it—more cars crammed into parking areas, more campers, more orange-clad hunters knocking around the woods. While most of the newbies had no choice but to hunt on public ground, some were able to get permission from landowners they knew or contacted. You might have felt a little more [...]

About 11 million people hunt deer in the U.S. Of those, a third are baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964. My generation is passionate and has hunted like no other. But we are getting old and gray. Studies show that on average people quit hunting at age 65. Climbing a tree or wrestling a 200-pound deer out of the woods is not as easy as it used to be. By 2030, it is estimated that more than 1 million Boomers will have hung up their guns and bows. Wildlife officials are worried about reduced money for conservation programs. Much of the outdoor has media predicted doom and gloom for the future of hunting. Then came COVID. In a turn [...]